Thermal inkjet printers have become ubiquitous.
These printers typically use semiconductor-based print heads which have individually-controlled ink-ejecting printing elements that heat water-based inks to vaporization. Vaporizing the ink causes it to be propelled onto a print media through microscopic holes formed in a plate or shield. Thermal energy to vaporize ink is supplied from electric current driven through small thin film resistors that are in thermal contact with ink, which is otherwise held in place within the print head by capillary effect.
Prior art thermal inkjet printers form images on print media by repeatedly passing a print head over the media. Small quantities of ink are “sprayed” onto the paper by turning on and turning off the thermal ink jet printing elements as the print head moves across the paper or print media.
At least one problem associated with existing inkjet printers is the speed at which these printers can produce acceptable quality output levels. Because a finite time is required for ink droplets to traverse the distance between the media and the print head, there is an upper speed limit for the print head beyond which further speed increases are not possible. Instead of moving the print head across the media, a method and apparatus by which an entire line of a page might be printed at once could provide a significant overall printing speed increase.